University System News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia lawmakers propose changes to Regents selection process
By Eric Stirgus
A group of Georgia state senators wants to change the selection process for the influential group that approves tuition and the educational goals of its largest public universities. If Senate Resolution 36 is successful, 14 of the 19 Georgia Board of Regents members would be chosen through the state Legislature. Currently, all 19 members are selected by the governor, like most state boards. Under the resolution, all 14 congressional districts in Georgia would have one member on the board, elected by a group of state lawmakers who represent each congressional district. Five at-large members would be selected by the governor.
WSB-TV
At-home COVID-19 tests could be game changer in fight against virus, researchers say
By: Matt Johnson, WSB-TV
Since the beginning of the pandemic, doctors and researchers said testing would be key to keeping COVID-19 under control or even eradicating it all together. That is why companies are trying to make it even easier for you to get tested for the virus, by developing at-home test kits for COVID-19. “It’s so necessary for people to have access for these tests,” said Georgia Tech research scientist Sarah Farmer. She told Channel 2′s Matt Johnson that she knows the pros and cons of at-home COVID-19 tests better than most because it’s her job to test the tests. …For months, Georgia Tech researchers have been studying usability and accuracy of most home tests seeking FDA approval. That includes the one from the Australian company Ellume. The U.S. just announced a $231 million deal with Ellume to buy 8.5 million tests by the end of the year.
Marietta Daily Journal
KSU and Wellstar Health System announce exclusive $5 million endowment for honors nursing students
Kennesaw State University and Wellstar Health System announce the establishment of the Wellstar-Tom and Betty Phillips Elite Honors Nursing Scholarship, a new $5 million endowment that will create an opportunity for highly qualified undergraduate students to gain acceptance into the Wellstar School of Nursing as early as their freshman years. This exclusive scholarship is a joint venture between KSU’s Wellstar College of Health and Human Services, KSU Journey Honors College, Wellstar Health System, the KSU Foundation, and KSU supporter and Emeritus member of the Wellstar Board of Trustees Tom Phillips. The multi-million-dollar gift also includes matching funds from a $10 million donation to the university’s Honors College from Rosemary and John Brown, which the university received in January 2020.
EurekAlert
$1 million gift from pool industry pioneer establishes MCG’s newest endowed chair
A $1 million gift from the estate of a pool industry pioneer has established the newest endowed chair at the state of Georgia’s only public medical school. The gift from the estate of the late Leon Bloom, founder of BioLab, Inc., an international swimming pool chemical company, honors him and his late wife by creating the Leon and Dorothy Bloom Chair in Medical Research at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
Columbus CEO
CSU Student Violinist Wins First Prize in National Sphinx Music Competition
Columbus State University music student Samuel Vargus has been awarded first place in the senior division of the 2021 Sphinx Competition. The awards were announced from Detroit on Saturday. Vargus, a Venezuelan-born violinist and student of Sergiu Schwartz, the William B. and Sue Marie Turner distinguished faculty chair in CSU’s Schwob School of Music, received the $50,000 Robert Frederick Smith Prize plus invitations to make a number of significant solo debuts with major orchestras in the future. The Sphinx Competition is a national competition offering young Black and Latinx classical string players a chance to compete under the guidance of an internationally renowned panel of judges, and to perform with and receive mentorship from established professional musicians.
Tifton CEO
ABAC Sets Record for Students Pursuing Bachelor’s Degrees
Bachelor’s degrees are more popular than ever before at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, according to numbers released by Dr. Amy Willis, Assistant Vice President for Academic Affairs. Willis said that of the 3,990 students enrolled at ABAC during the 2020 fall semester, a total of 2,353 pursued bachelor’s degrees. That tops the mark of 2,194 students who enrolled in four-year degree programs during the 2019 fall term.
Georgia Entertainment News
The Georgia Film Academy (GFA) announces a record-setting enrollment to train Georgians
By Staff
The Georgia Film Academy (GFA) announces a record-setting enrollment to train Georgians to work in fields throughout the full spectrum of the film, television and entertainment arts industries. As the state’s first-of-its-kind, cutting-edge entertainment arts conservatory, the GFA quickly pivoted at the onset of the pandemic, to provide students a hands-on hybrid of in-person and online education. “A GFA education is the quickest and most cost-effective way to enter the state’s $10 billion film and entertainment industry,” said GFA executive director, Jeffrey Stepakoff. “We provide real world experience in a relatively short period of time at a low tuition cost with a guaranteed internship.”
Clayton News-Daily
Clayton State University announces free tax assistance days
From Staff Reports
Clayton State University is offering free tax preparation assistance for eligible taxpayers in metro Atlanta, marking 31 years as a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site. “The VITA program at the College of Business is our way to connect with and assist our local community in an impactful way,” said Dr. Anthony Hannah, assistant professor of accounting, who is leading the program this year. “The students look forward to working with the public, answering their tax questions and preparing returns.” Taxpayers will receive help from the university’s accounting students to electronically file their taxes and ease the financial burden of filing taxes with the IRS.
Americus News
GSW reveals new name for student services building; Canes Central grand opening set for Feb. 19
Beth Alston
Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) is set to open its newly renovated $3.4 million student services building later this month. Hurricane students will now be able to access essential student enrollment services under one roof at the one-stop shop, with the official new name of Canes Central. Conveniently located in the eye of campus, Canes Central will house the offices of Recruitment and Admissions, Student Financial Aid, Student Accounts, and First-Year Experience. Students can receive application and registration assistance, seek face-to-face academic and college coaching, career advice, access financial aid information, guidance on bursar account, and receive tutoring services, among many other services.
Rockdale Newton Citizen
UGA researchers look to create market for cannonball jellyfish
By Sean Montgomery CAES News
The University of Georgia Department of Food Science and Technology’s Kevin Mis Solval and his team of researchers have secured a nearly half-million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to aid in creating safe food ingredients from cannonball jellyfish. Harvested on the southeast coast of the U.S., cannonball jellyfish, commonly called jellyballs, have become a prominent catch for fisheries located within the region, and a way for shrimpers to diversify their catch during the off-season for shrimp. But history has shown that there has never been a domestically sustainable market for jellyfish food products.
Macon Telegraph
Fort Valley State student shot in dorm robbery attempt while playing video games, police say
By Joe Kovac Jr.
A Fort Valley State University student was shot and wounded early Tuesday in what campus officials say the student described as an armed robbery attempt in a dorm room. The student — identified only as a senior “commuter student” who was said to be in “stable condition” at an area hospital — was wounded about 1 a.m., the university said in a midday news release. Campus police were “seeking suspects” in the incident which happened on a third floor at the Wildcat Commons dormitories between Wildcat Stadium and State University Drive on the southwest side of Fort Valley. According to the school’s news release, campus Police Chief Anita Allen said the victim had been playing video games with dorm residents when the shooting happened. The student, according to chief, described the episode “as an attempted armed robbery.”
Other News:
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Kemp: Georgia surpasses 1 million vaccinations
By Helena Oliviero and Eric Stirgus
Governor says state will have more doses, but demand outpacing supply
Gov. Brian Kemp said Wednesday that 1 million Georgians have now received a COVID-19 vaccine shot, which he called “an encouraging milestone.” But he said the state can’t ramp up for mass vaccinations because it doesn’t have enough vaccine. Starting next week, Kemp said, the number of doses allocated to the state will increase from 120,000 a week to 154,000, due to the Biden administration’s plan to release more supplies. However, Kemp noted there are two million Georgians currently eligible to be vaccinated. That includes those 65 years and older, healthcare workers and public safety officers, as well as those who live and work in long-term care facilities.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Fauci: 70% vaccination rate needed in U.S. before ‘normal’ returns
By Tim Darnell
President Joe Biden’s top medical adviser says between 70% and 85% of Americans must get vaccinated against the coronavirus before the nation can get back to normal. Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN on Tuesday night he’s hopeful the country can get to that level by the end of the summer to the beginning of fall. So far, according to the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, less than 2% of Americans have received both doses of the COVID vaccine.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Map: Coronavirus deaths and cases in Georgia (updated Feb. 2)
An updated count of coronavirus deaths and cases reported across the state
CONFIRMED DEATHS: 12,772 | Deaths have been confirmed in all counties but one (Taliaferro). This figure does not include additional cases that the DPH reports as suspected COVID-19-related deaths. County is determined by the patient’s residence, when known, not by where they were treated.
CONFIRMED CASES: 755,412 | Cases have been confirmed in every county.
Higher Education News:
Inside Higher Ed
New Variant Meets Its First University
University of Michigan’s stay-at-home order could be a look into the future for other colleges and universities, as new SARS-CoV-2 variants spread across the country.
By Lilah Burke
University of Michigan students are now under a stay-at-home order from the college administration after a recommendation from its county health department due to a cluster of cases of one of the new COVID-19 variants, called B.1.1.7. The new variant, first observed in Britain, has now been reported in 32 states and 467 people. Experts have suggested that B.1.1.7 transmits more efficiently and rapidly than previously observed types of the novel coronavirus. British experts have also suggested that the variant may be more deadly. As of Jan. 27, 14 people at Michigan have been infected with the B.1.1.7 variant.
Inside Higher Ed
By Scott Jaschik
About 14 percent of people at the College Board lost their jobs this week. A spokesman said, “We have made changes to become a more flexible organization, which included difficult decisions to reduce the size of our team. These changes will allow us to make strategic investments to meet the evolving needs of students and our members. We are strongly positioned to adapt to the future and invest in our mission of advancing all students into opportunity.”
Diverse Issues in Higher Education
Tribal Colleges Receive Support to Fight COVID-19
by Sarah Wood
As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, health disparities continue to be revealed and exacerbated. The disproportionate impact is especially prevalent within Native American communities, where the infection rate is 3.5 times higher compared to White populations, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Dr. Cheryl Crazy Bull, president and CEO of the American Indian College Fund, emphasized that Native communities are “impacted by death and the lack of access to health resources at this time.” … To support tribal communities, AT&T donated $1.5 million worth of supplies such as hand sanitizer, gloves and disinfectant to the American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) and American Indian College Fund. …The organizations announced plans to allocate the supplies to more than 20 tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) across the United States.
Inside Higher Ed
Opposition to Republican COVID-19 Plan
Democratic chairman of House education committee says coronavirus relief proposal put forth by moderate Republicans is a “drop in the bucket.”
By Kery Murakami
A top Democrat on education issues said the first proposal put out by some Republicans to find a bipartisan proposal to provide more coronavirus relief would not do enough for higher education. The comments by Representative Bobby Scott, the Virginia Democrat who chairs the House education committee, came as President Biden reportedly rejected a proposal by a group of 10 Republican senators as too small. Though Biden did not close the door on further negotiations with Republicans, he urged Democratic senators to go ahead with trying to pass the $1.9 trillion package he proposed, three times larger than the $618 billion proposed by the group of Republicans.